The shocking shift by US President Donald Trump to withdraw out of the talks with the Taliban will not only endanger the probability of peace in Afghanistan, but also hurl a new dispute for Pakistan at a time when it is already fully dealing with other foreign policy problems. Pakistan called on Taliban and US for control and reminded them of the promise to continue peace. Pakistan has been assisting the peace and compromise process in excellent faith and mutual responsibility. It has urged all sides to remain involved with frankness and forbearance. Pakistan exhorted US, Afghan Taliban to resume talks to find negotiated peace. It is now worried over the abrupt breakdown in talks because it apprehends that the new condition may put more force on Pakistan to do more to persuade the Taliban for a ceasefire. Trump’s last moment decision may be to induce the Taliban to agree to a lasting ceasefire, something the group has long opposed. In this context Pakistan may persuade the Taliban to lessen the level of violence.
Trump has cancelled peace talks with Afghan Taliban. His announcement may be to enhance US bargaining position and not establish a lasting negotiation policy. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo indicated that peace talks may reopen provided the Taliban met certain conditions. One of the worries expressed by Pompeo was that whether the Taliban command could fulfill on their promises. There is a feeling that there may be no coordination between the Taliban leaders negotiating a peace deal and field commanders operating inside Afghanistan. In this regard Pakistan must get participation of other regional players such as Russia and China to get the satisfactory results for the Afghan peace deal. Pakistan appealed US, Afghan Taliban to resume talks to find acceptable peace. Pakistan is of the opinion that there is no military solution to the year long war. President Donald Trump said that he was calling off the talks as the Taliban have never stopped their spread of violence, had killed a US serviceman in a car bombing in Kabul. Pakistan has always criticized violence and called on all sides for restriction and promptness to go for the peace process. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says US cannot exclude talks with the Taliban if Taliban make a substantial promise after President Donald Trump reversed a secret meeting with their leaders at his Camp David retreat.
Negotiations between the US and the Taliban had been ongoing for almost a year in Doha Negotiations between the US and the Taliban. Afghan group says US President Donald Trump’s abrupt cancellation of peace talks will harm Washington more. Taliban battle for the past about 18 years will proceed until the foreign occupation is completed and the Afghans are given an opportunity to live by their own option. The US negotiating team was satisfied with the achievement made so far in Doha and the talks were held in a cordial environment. Taliban had productive discussions with the US negotiating team and the agreement was concluded. The US delegation was pleased from the results of the talks until yesterday. Both sides were getting ready for the announcement and the signatory of the agreement. The Taliban stated it had even fixed September 23 as the inauguration day of another round of inter-Afghan dialogue. Subsequent Trump’s announcement, the Afghan president’s remarked that true peace would only be feasible if the Taliban halt launching attacks and held straightforward talks with the government. The Taliban has for a long time rejected to talk with the Afghan government, whom they called a puppet regime with no true power.
Whether the Afghan talks were dead, Pompeo claimed for the time being they are. It is not surprising that President Trump president has used this move several times in the past, that of moving away from bargaining in the expectation of getting a better or more robust negotiating position. Trump was anticipating that the Taliban would determine that it needed a peace deal excess than the US. In this regard he was acting like a shrewd businessman. It is difficult to comment whether the talk to be reopened in the near future or if the idea of talks has been dropped altogether. Many had pointed to in the past, that if the Taliban and Afghan government could not agree on a ceasefire during the significant peace talks, it was difficult to determine that they would be able to deliberate any fruitful agreement. The Afghan government had repeatedly shown worries over talks with the Taliban which ruled out its representatives. The US has sought to acquire an agreement with them but assurances made were hurriedly shattered. This has been part of a design which has followed since then. In any case for the near future Afghanistan desperately needs peace for its public.